William j



y W. J. THORN.

. PICKER CUSHION FDR LOOMS.

No., 62,087. Patented Feb. 12, `1867.

i @niet mes item1 @una WILLIAM J. THQRN, y OF WESTBROOK, MAINE, ASSIGNOR TC)v HIMSELF AND F. A. BETTS, `OF SAME PLAGE.

Letters Patent No. 62,087, dated February 121867.

turnover/Isar IN riesen-coesione ros Loons;

To ALL WHoM LT MAY eoNeEnN=- Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. THORN, vot' Westbrook,"in the county of Cumberland, and State of Maine,`

have invented a new and useful manner of preparing `the Picker-Cushions of.Weaving-Looms`; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description vthereofhvhich will enable others to make and use my invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, .in whichr i i Figure 1 shows a top plan of the form in which the cushion is pressed. Figure 2, a side elevation of the same.

Considerable diiculty and inconvenience have been experienced in practice 'to procure a suitable cushion or shield to the picker-stads of looms. In consequence of the rapidity of the staffs vibratory motion, and the fre-` quency of its blows upon the end or point of the shuttle, the cushion is apt to become worn and perforated by the end of the shuttle. A hole `so made in the cushion, irregularly or, to one side, immediately destroys the,- usefulnessof the cushion. l'.Ihese have ordinarily been made of pieces of leather laid together, united by pegs,` and then strapped to the picker-stati. These cushionshave been rudely'made, and have lasted but for a short p time. The result of this is that not a little expense has attended the use of `the,eushiicls,.besides their incon-` venience and ill adaptation to the purpose.

It is theipurpose of my invention to produce a cushion which shall be firm, s-uicieutly elastic, of increased durability and economy of construction.. Heretofore, the common picker-cushion has been cut with a head or shoulder at the vupper end for the sake of convenience inV attaching it to theV stati' by the strap passing around both stati' and cushion. This has caused a waste of the leather from which the cushion is manufactured. I

`obviate thisobjection by dispensing with the head, so that the leather for the cushion 4can be cut without waste.'

Instead of the head to retainthe strap, the strap is fastened to the cushion by a screw. As` hereinafterstated, severalelayers ofy leather are rst soaked in Water suiiciently to soften the substance thereof. The sides to be placed in contact with each other of the different pieces of leather are then covered with a thin `layer of cement.

I do not claim any Aparticular description of. cement; any that is vstrongly adhesive, and which becomes somei y,

what rigid upon drying,iwill answer the purpose. These layers, thus soaked and cemented, are -then placed in the` form, as seen in iig. 1. 4

a shows a cushion placed in position. The layers of leather must project above the parts ce c" e .of the form, in order to receive the pressure to which they are intended to be submitted.' I will now proceed to describe the form or mouldv in which the cushions or leathers are Vthus placed. It consists of abcd or' bottom upon which are the raised portions or vertical projections c c c c", Z7 and b. These are soarranged as toform spaces to receive the leathers, of the form shown byla, asillustrated in the drawing. Into these spaces the leathers are, as aforesaid, placed and submitted to pressure. I commonly employan ordinary screw-press. The projections ce', 85e., being all the same altitude, the cushions, after compression, are, of course, o i the same thickness, and being of the same thickness before compression, are, when finished, of the same-density.' Thus the former irregularity in the thickness and consistency of picker-cushions is wholly avoided." Pegs may be driven through the cushions in one or two places, if desired, after the compression. The combined eii'ect ofthe soaking, cement,

and compressionis to render the cushions not only uniform in size, but firm, solid, and very durable, and 'enables them to endure the 'percussion of the shuttle many times longer than cushions of leather as usually made.. d4 d show arms turning on pivotsat e, and resting longitudinally in the spaces between the projections c c', libc.r The use of these is to remove the cushions from their beds or forms after compressiomas is illustratedin fig. 2, which would otherwise be a matter of diiiiculty, owing to the adhesion of the cushions to the sides of the form and the.

uprights e c', Etc. Allowed to remain in the form under pressure for a few moments,`the cushions are, when taken out, firm, rigid, and of uniform size and toughness, as far as the nature and quality'of the stock permits of the same, and can then be placed for drying. I In consequence ofthe pressure-to which the cushions are submitted, the wear of the shuttle is uniform4 thereon, the` successive layers of leather being of the same or nearly ythe same density. The cushion, when made without cement, allows the shuttle to pierce it with greater rapidity than `when the cement is usefhand oftenthe upper layer of thcrcushion breaks cut after the wear of a certain j time. Also the hole worn by the shuttle into the cushion becoming slanting or .ir-regular, the cushion quite soon becomes useless. Theirregularity of the hole is caused by thevarying degrees of resistance which the point of the shuttle meets with on the cushion, since the cushion, as ordinarily made, is not ofthe same density throughout.

.Thus the point of the shuttle- Will be lturned away from a hard o1' solid partof the leather, and continue to penetrate Where it is softer 0r` more porous. In my invention this is obviated by the pressure which reduces the cushion to the same or nearly the same density throughout, so that the pointofuthe shuttle will penetrate all parts'of the cushion equa1ly,`or rather meet with the .same or nearly the same resistance from all parts of the cushion. These, in connection with the economy of cutting and increased durability, are the advantages lWhich I claim for my invention. Y

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isf- A tanned leather picker-cushion for Weaving-looms, manufactured and prepared in the manner herein set forth.

WILLIAM J. TI-IoRN. Witness es WILLIAM H. CLIFFORD, HENRY'C. HOUSTON. 

